New Draft of BCRA Fails to Adequately Protect People with
Pre-existing Conditions

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the Senate released a new draft of the Better Care Reconciliation
Act (BCRA), including an amendment that would allow insurance companies
to offer plans not in compliance with critical patient protections in
current law. Ten patient advocacy organizations, representing millions
of Americans, issued the following statement today in response:

Under the amendment, insurance companies would be allowed to charge
higher premiums to people based on their health status—in addition to
opting out of other patient protections in current law, such as the
guarantee of essential health benefits and the prohibition on annual and
lifetime coverage caps. Separating healthy enrollees from those with
pre-existing conditions will also lead to severe instability of the
insurance market. This is unacceptable for our patients.

Even without this amendment, the revised underlying legislation would
still be devastating for patients everywhere – an infant diagnosed with
cystic fibrosis, a woman who has experienced postpartum depression,
or an adult who develops cancer. Millions of people who battle chronic
diseases or disabilities, like heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes,
would be negatively impacted by this legislation. Patients need a health
care bill that does not jeopardize their access to necessary treatments
and care.

We urge Congress to defeat the BCRA as written and any other bill that
fails to protect patients’ access to affordable, accessible, and
adequate health care coverage.